Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wireless network communications and, more specifically, to coalescing message transmissions across a mesh network.
Description of the Related Art
A conventional wireless mesh network includes a plurality of nodes configured to communicate with one another via wireless communication links. Each node also is configured to communicate, either directly or indirectly, with one or more access points coupled to the network. An access point acts as a gateway into and out of the mesh network, allowing nodes to communicate with one or more network management entities residing outside the mesh network.
Under various circumstances, multiple nodes may simultaneously transmit messages across the network to an access point in order to communicate with one of the network management entities. For example, if a power outage occurs, nodes could transmit “last gasp” messages to one of the network management entities, via a given access point, to indicate that those nodes have lost power. In such a situation, a large number of nodes could lose power at approximately the same time; therefore, all of those nodes could transmit “last gasp” messages to the access point within a very short time interval. In another example, a given network management entity could broadcast a message to some or all nodes in the mesh network. Upon receiving the broadcast message, the nodes could transmit acknowledgement messages to the network management entity via a given access point. In this scenario, the access point would receive a large number of acknowledgement messages within a very short time interval.
In either of the above examples, and other similar scenarios, the access point may become flooded with numerous messages within a very short time span. The access point may not be capable of processing all such incoming messages quickly enough and, consequently, may become overwhelmed with message-oriented traffic. In extreme cases, the access point may cease to function properly, potentially disabling the mesh network.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a more effective approach for transmitting messages across a mesh network.